United States Rambles Past Panama, 91-63

INDIANAPOLIS — The U.S. basketball team got off to a running start Sunday, wearing down Panama, 91-63, in the opening game of the Pan American Games tournament.

Coach Denny Crum's deeper, taller and quicker squad had a 23-7 run in the final six minutes of the first half and first two minutes of the second to turn a tight game into a runaway.

''It was a good game for us,'' Crum said. ''Not that we played a great game, but it was the first time we were able to play against an organized zone defense.''

Panama, the Central Zone champions, brought an older, experienced team made up mostly of athletes who played at Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa.

Mario Butler -- the elder statesman of the Panamanian squad, the team's tallest player at 6 feet 8 and a member of the Briar Cliff Alumni Association -- used his experience and muscle to score 15 points and grab eight rebounds. His strength around the basket enabled Panama to battle the United States on even terms. Panama led, 28-27, with 5:59 to play in the first half.

That's when David Robinson and Ricky Berry sparked a 17-7 run to intermission. Danny Manning then scored the first six points of the second half, and the opener was history.

Jim Baron -- who coaches St. Francis College in Loretto, Pa., when not working with the Panamanian team -- said the U.S. transition game was the key. ''I thought they did a nice job getting the ball up and down the floor,'' Baron said. ''They ran the break very, very well.''

The fast break was keyed by running forwards like Berry (16) and Manning (18), who enjoyed big games filling the lanes in a balanced offense that produced five three-point goals and six double-figure scorers.

Crum: ''Funny thing about this team -- there's no way to predict who is going to be the star.''

That depth wore down Butler and his buddies. At 30, Butler used his bulk around the basket to hold his own, but he had his problems keeping up on the break.

''It was a good game for me,'' Butler said, ''but it was for him Robinson, too. I was more up for him than he was for me.

''Age is like the whiskey. The older it gets, the better it is.''

Crum hopes his young squad continues to age today at 1:30 p.m. against Argentina. Argentina beat the U.S. team in last summer's World Championships. But a money dispute between players and the nation's basketball federation has led to wholesale roster changes.

Americans Fennis Dembo and Jeff Lebo were hurt in separate first-half incidents. Neither is believed to be seriously hurt.